Service Six Question

This is a discussion on Service Six Question within the Ruger Double Action forums, part of the Pistol & Revolver Forum category; I recently purchased a Liberty marked service six in .38 Special that is in excellent condition. I was wondering if it was possible to shoot ...

I recently purchased a Liberty marked service six in .38 Special that is in excellent condition. I was wondering if it was possible to shoot .357 from this weapon by simply changing the cylinder and crane assembly?. I have seen people talking about the 38's being built with the same exact parts as the 357's and if it were safe to do so I had thought about trying it. I've read where some talk about reaming out the 38 to fire 357 ammo but I dont want in any way to damage the original parts of this gun. Anyway just curious, any info greatly appreciated, Thanks.

^I'm with exlogger. You can get pretty good expansion and penetration with .38+P. I've been loading my .38 revolvers with Remington Golden Sabre and Hornady Critical Defense.

I'll share an interesting story though. I had bought a Smith .38 spl j frame at a gun show years ago. It was labeled as a .38 but Smith also had offered the same model in .357. I decided out of curiousity to measure everything to the .357 model (a friend of mine owned the latter.) Everything measured, weighed, and looked almost identical except for the grips. Then I decided to see if it would chamber a .357 round and to my surprise it fit perfectly. I even risked shooting it and it kicked but handled just like the .357. After some research I found out that what I had was a rare transition model. My .38 had the same .357 frame, barrel, and cylinder... only thing was that it was roll marked a .38. My advice is unless all the parts, including frame are made to handle .357, don’t risk it. That’s a powerful round where you don’t want something going wrong to happen.

If you want a 357 get one. I have a service six in 357 but the majority of my shooting is done with 38 Specials. I am sure there would be many folks that would love to have a 1976 Liberty model in 38 spec. that would be willing to trade .

Why tempt fate?Unless you have written proof from the manufacturer that the barrel is exactly the same as or is a .357 mag barrel then your asking for trouble.It is just unsafe practices like this that get people hurt.I agree with Southerngunner if you wanted a .357 you should have bought one.You also can't "Ream out" a .38spl to accommodate a .357mag round.The .357mag round is longer and is to long for the .38 cylinder.

I would not do it myself, especially on the 76 gun. Since "we" were not there when it was produced, I hate to find out that the frames used for 38s were "seconds" for the 357 line. BIG difference in the pressure between the two cartridges.

Odd analogy but I have a 28 gal tank in my truck. I often only put in 14 gal of fuel. On my car which has a 14 gal tank I NEVER PUT IN 28 GAL...

I never said I necessarily wanted a .357 but after reading a few threads on this very site my curiousity was peaked, Plus a friend of mine happens to have a cylinder and crane from a .357 he wanted to sell me for $20 so I thought I'd ask the question. And as for why I bought a .38 special, I would have been a fool to not buy it! It is a blued 4" Service Six, Liberty Edition in excellent condition that I picked up for $150. I am perfectly happy shooting .38 special +p ammo with it.

So, I shouldn't ream my Speed Six .38 chambers out to take .357?
Guess I'll just have to be happy with Buffalo Bore .38s. (easy enough)
Tim Sundles loads the ammo I WISH RemFedChestSpeerAdy would dare to load.

It's been a long time since I had a Service Six .38 Spl in my hands (I was issued one when I was on flight status in the Army), but I seem to remember that they were a bit lighter in construction than my .357 Mag Security Six.

Of course, I never had the two of them side-by-side, so I can't be sure.

I never said I necessarily wanted a .357 but after reading a few threads on this very site my curiousity was peaked, Plus a friend of mine happens to have a cylinder and crane from a .357 he wanted to sell me for $20 so I thought I'd ask the question. And as for why I bought a .38 special, I would have been a fool to not buy it! It is a blued 4" Service Six, Liberty Edition in excellent condition that I picked up for $150. I am perfectly happy shooting .38 special +p ammo with it.

$150. for a Liberty Edition in excellent shape You got one hell of a deal my friend Enjoy it and just for giggles try some target wadcutters out of it you will be pleasnaly suprised with the lack of recoil and the accuracy.Enjoy

$150. for a Liberty Edition in excellent shape You got one hell of a deal my friend Enjoy it and just for giggles try some target wadcutters out of it you will be pleasnaly suprised with the lack of recoil and the accuracy.Enjoy

That - and the fact that the .38 guns are uncommon compared to the .357 guns. If the OP just MUST have a .357, he should trade the .38 to a collector.